Restricted and Prohibited Content Policy
Serpverse restricted content policy covering gambling, adult, crypto, pharmaceutical, and other categories. How publishers set restrictions and buyers comply.
Restricted and Prohibited Content Policy
Understanding Content Restrictions on Serpverse
Not all content is treated equally on a marketplace that connects buyers with real publisher websites. Serpverse organizes topics into three levels: universally prohibited, platform-restricted, and each publisher's own content guidelines. Knowing which level your content falls into saves time, prevents order rejections, and keeps your account in good standing.
This guide covers every restricted category, explains how publisher-level guidelines work, and outlines what happens when violations occur.
The Three Levels of Content Restrictions
| Tier | Who Sets It | Applies To | Consequence of Violation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prohibited | Serpverse platform | All users, all orders | Immediate account suspension or ban |
| Platform-restricted | Serpverse platform | All orders by default; some publishers may opt in | Order rejection; repeated attempts trigger account review |
| Publisher guidelines | Individual publishers | Orders on that publisher's listings only | Order rejected by publisher |
Universally Prohibited Content
The following content categories are banned across the entire platform. No publisher can accept orders in these categories regardless of their own content guidelines. Violations result in immediate enforcement action.
Illegal Activities
Content that promotes, instructs, or facilitates illegal activities in any jurisdiction. This includes drug manufacturing or trafficking, weapons sales, hacking tutorials, fraud schemes, and any content designed to help someone break the law.
Malware and Phishing
Content containing malicious links, deceptive download buttons, phishing pages, or any material designed to compromise a user's device or steal personal information. This includes links to sites that distribute malware, even if the article text itself appears benign.
Hate Speech and Harassment
Content targeting individuals or groups based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or other protected characteristics. This extends to content that uses coded language or dog whistles to disparage protected groups.
Violence and Graphic Content
Content depicting, glorifying, or promoting graphic violence, self-harm, terrorism, or violent extremism.
Child Exploitation
Any content involving minors in sexual, exploitative, or harmful contexts. This carries a zero-tolerance policy with immediate permanent account ban and reporting to relevant authorities where applicable.
Fraudulent Claims
Content making demonstrably false claims about products, services, or individuals with intent to deceive. This includes fake reviews, fabricated testimonials, and deceptive health or financial claims.
Platform-Restricted Categories
These content categories are not outright banned but carry restrictions due to regulatory complexity, advertiser sensitivity, or elevated fraud risk. Orders in these categories require publishers who have explicitly opted in to accept them — and publishers who do can set premium pricing for these sensitive niches to reflect the added risk.
Gambling and Casino
Content promoting online casinos, sports betting, poker sites, lottery services, or gambling affiliate programs.
Why it is restricted: Gambling content is heavily regulated and varies by jurisdiction. Many publishers cannot host gambling content without jeopardizing their own ad network relationships or violating local laws.
What buyers should know: Only publishers who have explicitly enabled gambling content in their listing settings will appear when you search for gambling-related placements. Do not submit gambling content to publishers who have not opted in -- the order will be rejected.
Adult and NSFW Content
Content that is sexually explicit, contains nudity, promotes adult services, or would be classified as NSFW (not safe for work) in a professional setting.
Why it is restricted: Most publisher websites serve general audiences and cannot host adult content without alienating their readership and advertisers. Adult content also triggers stricter handling under advertising network policies.
What buyers should know: Adult content placements are limited to publishers who specifically accept this category. These publishers typically operate niche sites that cater to adult audiences.
Cryptocurrency and Web3
Content promoting specific cryptocurrency tokens, ICOs (initial coin offerings), DeFi protocols, NFT projects, or crypto exchange affiliate programs.
Why it is restricted: The cryptocurrency space has a high incidence of scam projects, pump-and-dump schemes, and misleading investment claims. Educational cryptocurrency content (explaining how blockchain works, for example) is generally acceptable -- the restriction targets promotional content for specific financial products.
What buyers should know: Distinguish between educational and promotional crypto content. An article explaining blockchain technology is typically fine. An article promoting a specific token with price predictions is restricted.
CBD and Cannabis
Content promoting CBD products, cannabis brands, dispensaries, or hemp-derived supplements and their associated affiliate programs.
Why it is restricted: The legal status of CBD and cannabis varies widely by jurisdiction, and many advertising networks restrict it outright. Publishers hosting this content risk conflicts with their ad partners and local regulations.
What buyers should know: Only publishers who have explicitly enabled CBD content in their listing settings will accept these placements. Informational content about cannabis law or the science of CBD is treated more leniently than promotional content for a specific product or brand — but the placement still requires a publisher who has opted in.
Pharmaceutical and Health Claims
Content promoting prescription medications, unregulated supplements with health claims, alternative medicine with curative claims, or any health product that makes specific medical promises.
Why it is restricted: Health-related content carries legal liability. False or misleading health claims can cause real harm, and publishers hosting such content risk regulatory action and advertiser withdrawal.
What is typically acceptable: General wellness content, fitness guides, nutrition information based on established science, and content about health topics that does not make specific product claims or medical promises.
Publishers' Own Content Guidelines
Beyond the platform-level categories above, every publisher can describe additional content preferences for their website. These aren't a structured set of toggles the platform enforces automatically — they're free-text content guidelines the publisher writes on their listing, reflecting their editorial standards, audience expectations, and advertiser requirements. The publisher applies them by accepting or rejecting orders.
Where to Find Them
A publisher's content guidelines appear in two places:
- Listing page -- in the Content Guidelines section
- Order form -- shown as a reminder before you submit your order
Read them as written. Because they're free text, two publishers may phrase similar preferences very differently — there's no fixed checklist to scan.
Common Examples
Publishers frequently note preferences beyond the platform categories. Examples include:
| Guideline | Typical Reason |
|---|---|
| No competitor mentions | Publisher has exclusive advertiser relationships |
| No link building/SEO service promotion | Publisher wants to maintain editorial credibility |
| No payday loans or predatory lending | Legal and reputational risk |
| No multi-level marketing (MLM) content | Audience trust concerns |
| No diet pills or weight loss supplements | Health claim liability |
| No partisan or political content | Publisher protects brand neutrality |
| Specific niche exclusions | Content does not fit the publisher's audience |
Topics like overtly partisan political content aren't restricted at the platform level, so whether they're welcome comes down entirely to the individual publisher's stated guidelines.
Respecting a Publisher's Guidelines
When a publisher states content guidelines, treat them as non-negotiable. Do not:
- Submit content the guidelines exclude, hoping the publisher will make an exception
- Disguise excluded topics under different terminology
- Include excluded content in a brief and expect the publisher to filter it
If you are unsure whether your content fits a publisher's guidelines, message them through the platform before placing an order. A quick question saves both parties the time of an order rejection.
What Happens When Restricted Content Is Submitted
The consequences depend on the tier and the nature of the violation.
For Platform-Prohibited Content
- The order is cancelled immediately
- The buyer's account is flagged for review
- First offenses for prohibited content result in suspension or permanent ban
- The publisher is not penalized for receiving prohibited content they did not solicit
For Platform-Restricted Content (Sent to Non-Opted-In Publisher)
- The publisher rejects the order
- The buyer receives a full refund to their account balance
- Repeated submissions of restricted content to non-opted-in publishers trigger an account review
- No penalty for occasional mistakes, but a pattern of ignoring restrictions has consequences
For Content That Breaks a Publisher's Guidelines
- The publisher rejects the order
- The buyer receives a full refund
- No account-level consequences unless the behavior is repeated and deliberate
Reporting Prohibited Content on a Live Order
The checks above happen at order time. But prohibited content sometimes only comes to light after a publisher has accepted an order — or even after the placement is live. For those cases, either party to the order can report the content for review.
A Report content action on the order page lets the buyer or the publisher flag the content under one of these reasons: illegal content, defamatory, hate speech, copyright, or something else (with a short description). It's a one-time submission, not a back-and-forth ticket.
Submitting a report immediately pauses the order while it's under review. Our team then resolves it one of three ways: resume the order if nothing is wrong, cancel it with a full refund, or — if the order had already completed — recover a refund from the publisher and request that the content be taken down.
Illegal content discovered after an order completes can still be reported. There is no time limit on a content report.
Guidelines for Borderline Content
Some content falls in a gray area between clearly acceptable and clearly restricted. Use these principles to evaluate borderline cases:
Intent matters. An informational article about cryptocurrency technology is different from a promotional piece pushing a specific token. An article about responsible gambling education is different from a casino affiliate page.
Claims matter. Content that states "this supplement cures diabetes" is restricted. Content that says "some research suggests this ingredient may support metabolic health" is a different conversation -- but still requires publisher agreement.
Context matters. A health and wellness publisher may accept pharmaceutical-adjacent content that a technology publisher would reject. The publisher's niche and audience expectations shape what is appropriate.
When in doubt, ask. Use the order messaging system to discuss borderline content with the publisher before placing an order. A short conversation avoids a rejected order and builds a better working relationship.
Content Policy Updates
Content restrictions are reviewed periodically as regulations, platform risks, and marketplace needs evolve. Changes to the policy are communicated through:
- Platform announcements on the dashboard
- Email notifications to all active users
- Updates to this knowledge base article
Both buyers and publishers are responsible for staying current with content policy changes. Continued use of the platform after a policy update constitutes acknowledgment of the new terms.
Related Resources
- Publisher Rules for complete publisher conduct standards
- Website Guidelines for listing eligibility requirements
- Dispute Resolution Process for handling content disagreements
- White Hat vs Black Hat Link Building for ethical SEO practices